Many people seem to think that putting a copyright notice on their work protects their rights. They are only partly right.
Registering the copyright is an important step. If you register your copyright before an infringement occurs, you have a great deal more leverage in enforcing your rights.
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Question: Is the Copyright © notice required?
The copyright notice is not required. Legally, the creator owns the copyright to his/her works, and those rights attach automatically when the work is reduced to a tangible medium (e.g., put on paper). So, you don’t have to use copyright notice to have legal rights. Still, it is a good business practice to use the copyright notice (© Date, your name, (and I recommend including contact info for permissions) routinely because it puts people on notice that you claim ownership of the copyright
Question: What are the benefits of Copyright Registration?
To enforce your rights, you need to register your copyright. Registered works are on the “public record” and have a certificate of registration. Most importantly, registered works are eligible for statutory damages and attorney’s fees in litigation.
For example, if you discovered that a someone had copied your software program, or training materials, or other creative work, and was using it without paying the licensing fee, you would want to stop the unauthorized use and collect damages.
When you call an intellectual property lawyer about enforcing your copyright, the first question will be: “Have you registered the copyright?”
If no, you have little leverage to negotiate a settlement. You have to hurry up and register the copyright (expedited registration is expensive and delays your enforcement efforts). Further, you will have to provide actual damages, actual lost revenues, which is extremely difficult.
If yes, you have leverage because of the statutory damages provision of the Copyright Act which provides for damages of “not less than $750 or more than $30,000″ per infringement. If the court finds that the infringer’s behavior was “willful,” the court has discretion “to increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $150,000″ per infringement. You may also recover attorney fees
Question: How do I register my copyright?
To register a work, go to the web site for the Library of Congress (www.loc.gov) and click on the Copyright Office. You’ll find a wealth of information with forms and filing instructions. Some copyright filings can be done electronically. Otherwise, you will need to submit the appropriate application form for the type of work being registered: such as Form TX for literary works including computer programs, Form VA for pictorial material , Form PA for audiovisual works. You must also pay a nonrefundable filing fee (which was $65 at the time I am writing this post), and include a “deposit” which can be a copy of the entire work, a print out, audio cassettes, videotape or computer disk depending on the type of the work to be registered.
Question: Where can I get forms to register a copyright?
Forms may be downloaded from the Library of Congress website. You may also get forms from the Copyright Office in person, by mailing in a request, or by calling the forms hotline: (202) 707-9100. Most public libraries can help you download the forms.
In conclusion, it’s a good business practice to register your copyrights. Registering a copyright is inexpensive and provides strong leverage in obtaining compensation in the event of infringement (unauthorized, uncompensated use, outside the fair use doctrine). If you wait until an infringement occurs, it’s too late.
